Eternal Witness
by DarkestAngellic
Summary: She has the gift and curse of Sight. Tasked with watching every second of every day until the Planet's end, expected to plan for every outcome.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

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If I was to tell you how things ended there would be little point in listening to what I have to say.

Many believe an ending is the most important part of a story, I disagree. The climax is but the final happening to say "The End" to a journey. It is the words, chapters, events in between beginning and end that are the most important. The in between is where the lesson is, where the details hide.

But I will say this: it ends much as it begins, as all things do.

In death.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

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When first the cycle begins anew life is slow to take hold. Many thousands of years pass before I give creation to the first humans. I am proud of my making, of my design – with their imperfections they are perfect. Just as I wished, they adapt to their many trials. The changing weather, environmental shifts, shortage of food or water and so on and so forth.

And yet, sitting upon the throne of Governing as I do, spinning the delicate webs of personality and individuality, I See. Such is the curse of a Goddess – we See everything. Every outcome, every possibility, every what if, every doubt, every certainty. But Understanding does not come with Sight, and so I am left in the darkness of confusion.

With the first breath of my humans a great evil clouds what should have been a peaceful future. A taint, a plague, a disease, a threat. I do not understand it, I cannot, for I have never encountered it before.

But still I must plan, and so I follow the threads of Future to examine outcomes, as is my duty to this Planet.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

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The WEAPONs are my children. Each and every one. Those to guard the four compass points of the Planet are created first, then the fifth, to guard the centre. They are sentient, they are Aware. They _live_. They are my babies, even though my care and attention they need not. Their purpose is clear.

Slumber, Hibernation, until time of grave danger. Awaken, Defend, Eradicate, Slumber, Hibernation. That is their pattern.

But five is too large for true Purpose. The Cycle must be upheld. Birth, Life, Death. Or Life, Death, Rebirth. Always a threefold cycle, never ending, ever moving onward.

And so the guardians… there must be three. One to guard Life, one to bring upon Death, one to shepherd both to a new Planet when this one eventually fails.

And so I create the strongest of them all. Shadow. Chaos. Omega. The Trio to guard the Cycle.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

* * *

The Cetra, my darlings, call it (the parasite) the Calamity, that has crippled my world so. Oh how the Planet screams in pain from the inflicted wound, the poison it spreads. They name it Jenova, after the Cetra woman it possessed, before locking it away in the very earth it had damaged. Such a thing costs them, of course, as all magic does, and the race of powerful males and females slowly dwindles until only their genetics remain, diluted from the few couplings with humans. But at least their magic, their power, their legacy remains. It will be needed in the future.

It is, of course, within my power to intervene with the Calamity, to challenge her myself, but it is not wise for me to do so when knowing so little about her. Should I fall to her hand this world and all of my creations will be doomed, the Cycle compromised. The only option left is to plan, to plot, to construct contingencies; and so that is what I do.

I See a blonde man, a young woman who can hear the Planet's voice and the Lifestream's souls. I See a group of mismatched, but loyal, companions. I See determination and strength, death and grief. Their names I cannot hear for there are far too many steps between now and then, so many choices that could influence a name. Yet I See where they live, I know of the parents each one resembles, and so the ancestors are plucked from the Lifestream's flow. Born in a wash of pain and blood and screaming, at least one part of the future is secure despite the Calamity's Wound.

One of my children is important for this group. And yet I cannot tell which brother it is – Chaos, or Shadow?


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

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It cannot be one who wields a sword, I can predict that much. The Calamity, wretch that she is, is smart and plots just as I do. We are locked, not in a battle of weapons or words, in a contest of wills. For every possible outcome in my favour, her decisions create a dozen more that spell nothing but destruction and death.

She has a Chosen, someone she will fashion through use of Puppets to be her vessel in ending this Planet. He wields a sword, possesses extraordinary skill, and so the son I place in his path cannot be the one wielding a sharp weapon.

Several days after I come to such a conclusion, Chaos ad Shadow successfully summon the weapons the Lifestream itself has fashioned for them.

Shadow wields four swords.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing from FFVII, not the settings, not the characters, not the names. Nothing. I own absolutely nothing. It is all the property of the wonderful Square Enix.**_

* * *

Fire consumes the Planet, burning all in its path, charring the Lifestream, killing the WEAPONs trying to contain it. The pair continue fighting, oblivious to the damage they are causing. Two figures hurtling through the air, energy crackling around them and magic loosed from skilled fingertips. Omega awakens, summoned by the screams of the Planet. Not to halt their squabble, but to save the Lifestream instead, carry it from the burning world, protect the Cycle.

But flames born of hate ignite within the caverns of the WEAPON's body, just as they have elsewhere. They spread like venom, tainting the souls contained within him, poisoning the stream.

Omega is fast enough to escape the crumbling Planet, but he is far too late. All perish before a new home can be found, leaving behind an empty shell for the Calamity to use as she sees fit. To pollute further life, end it, destroy it, as is _her_ purpose.

And still the brothers wage war. A fight to the death that will kill them both, and everything Minerva's worked so hard to fashion.

With heavy heart and guarded thoughts, Minerva abandons her throne to visit the brothers. There is already a spark of evil in one of them, one that will eventually lead to the all-consuming inferno she has glimpsed.

One is already bleeding, face torn open and right arm a shattered mess, resigned to the blow he believes will kill him. Minerva knows better, knows the Lifestream will spit him out again, but the damage will have already ben done. The bond between brothers shattered with such an attempt on one's life.

So it is that she strikes the rogue one where he stands, calling forth a twisted mimicry of creation. Not to fashion life this time, but to end it. He will not join the Lifestream, for even his soul is destroyed, and just like that the future of burning vanishes from her Sight, no longer a possibility.

Minerva returns to her seat above all things, Chaos' grief a haunting cry she can never forget. She knows of the seed now planted, knows that Chaos will grow to hate her with every fibre of his being.

But if playing the part of evil Goddess prevents _that _kind of future, then an evil Goddess she will be.


End file.
